Dark and Divine

She had always been told that she's not up to the mark,
Because she had skin that was dusky and dark,
But did this mean she failed to hit the mark?
For she always believed her personality to have that spark.

Is it her fault that gold eyeshadow perches better on her eyelid?
That her face doesn't need a nimbus to seem lit?
For the amount of melanin she has under her skin?
Or that she doesn't need fake tanners, like girls in Berlin?

She's brown in colour, but with golden undertones,
Which gives her a luminescence, a 'lit from within' glow,
Because beauty standards in the world come and go,
But this 'dark-skinned' stigma dwells, and nothing grows.

For a beauty pageant she went, but was kept away from the mains,
Little did they know, she was a beauty with brains,
So she struggled to keep her guard up with all the pains,
And longed for something to be a part of all domains.

In ten years time, she went on and explained,
How if you were dark, you had to extra extra try,
Because societal norms will push you and make you cry,
But one day, your fate will smile back in wry.

Being dark didn't mean she was any less than the others,
Her whole life she remained exceptional than her brothers,
She had wanted to soar, if she had the duthers,
After all, she was really the mother of all Godmothers.

Now she's at the top, against that remark,
That she was tall and thin, but oh! so dark!
For they were strangers to the truth that her aura wasn't stark,
It was only her shell that was infinitely divine, but dark!

(Inspired by my favourite model, Amna Ilyas. She truly is dark and divine)